Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Greater Manchester

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what commitment they have received from Manchester Airport to fund the proposed HS2 station for that city.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government remains supportive of a HS2 station at Manchester Airport, however the construction of this station and its inclusion in the final scheme remains subject to agreeing an appropriate local funding contribution. The Department have been, and continues to, work positively with Greater Manchester Local Authorities and Manchester Airport Group (MAG) on this matter.

Cycleways: Greater London

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 4 November (HL Deb, col 1340), what funding they have provided for cycle lanes to each local authority in each of the last five years.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: On 7 February 2020, the Department published a detailed breakdown of annual investment in cycling and walking from 2016/17 to 2018/19 alongside the first report on progress made towards delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). This includes information on how much funding each local authority received over that period. Copies of the report and other associated information are available on GOV.UK. An update including a detailed breakdown of annual investment in 2019/20 and 2020/21 will be published in due course. In the meantime, local authority allocations under the Active Travel Fund in 2020/21 are published on the Department for Transport’s website.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the HS2 contract awarded to a Hitachi and Alstom joint-venture, (1) what estimate they have made of the number passenger seats that will be provided in each train, and (2) what provision there will be for passengers travelling with bicycles.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The number of seats and other interior provisions were described in the Invitation to Tender documentation published in April 2017. The exact details will be refined over the next year before the detailed design commences in conjunction with the West Coast Partner.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the HS2 contract awarded to a Hitachi and Alstom joint-venture, whether there will be two separate types of train, (a) classic compatible trains, and (b) trains dedicated to high-speed lines.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The 54 trains contracted from the Joint venture are conventional compatible trains only.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Railway Stations

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the HS2 contract awarded to a Hitachi and Alstom joint-venture, which stations the trains delivered by that contract will serve; which platforms within these stations will also be served by trains operating on Network Rail tracks; and what station platform heights will be used for trains delivered from the contract.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The 54 trains contracted will be able to operate on the HS2 infrastructure as well as the conventional network primarily to serve the routes on the West Coast.The exact train service will be defined at a later date by the West Coast Partner.The stations on the HS2 infrastructure will offer street to train seat step free, with a platform height of 1115mm.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will introduce support for community energy schemes.

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of community energy schemes being used to increase public involvement in the drive towards Net Zero.

Lord Callanan: The Government recognises that community energy projects can play a role in raising awareness of both the energy system and wider environmental issues, and in the promotion of behaviour change. In order to support community energy projects, the Government’s £10m Rural Community Energy Fund supports rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects.

Business: Carbon Emissions

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks of omitting Scope 3 emissions from Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures reporting; and what plans they have to mandate Scope 3 emissions reporting for UK businesses.

Lord Callanan: In October 2021, the Government laid regulations to require climate-related financial disclosures from certain UK-registered companies. The regulations do not duplicate pre-existing greenhouse gas emission disclosure requirements under Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), which require large or quoted UK companies and large Limited Liability Partnerships to make disclosures on energy use and emissions in their Annual Reports. Scope 3 emissions reporting is not currently required by either set of regulations. The discussion around better alignment between SECR and the TCFD recommendations, and the potential to require Scope 3 disclosures formed a part of our UK Government consultation on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures, which concluded in May 2021. Any changes to the SECR regime to require scope 3 disclosures will require a separate consultation process, and would need to take into account the costs and benefits to business of mandatory scope 3 reporting. Any changes would also need to take account of the introduction of the proposed UK Sustainability Disclosures Requirements (SDR) Regime, as set out in Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investment published on 18th October 2021; and the requirements introduced in the June 2021 Procurement Policy Note that require mandatory disclosures of scope 1, scope 2 and a subset of Scope 3 emissions in carbon reduction plans when bidding for major government contracts. Following COP26, our main ask of business is to join the UN’s Race to Zero. Companies with this kitemark commit to cutting emissions across all three scopes in line with a 1.5C pathway, with clear reporting and transparency mechanisms.

Job Creation and Job Security: Yorkshire and the Humber

Baroness Redfern: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe impact of the development of Drax into the world’s first carbon neutral industrial cluster on (1) safeguarding existing jobs, and (2) creating new green skilled jobs, in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Lord Callanan: In November 2020, the Government published the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, which set out the government’s ambition to have two operational industrial clusters by the mid-2020s and a further two clusters operational by 2030. The CCUS programme will contribute to the creation of high skilled, high wage and sustainable jobs in every part of the UK, with the expectation of supporting up to 50,000 jobs in 2030[1]. The Net Zero Strategy outlined an ambition to deploy at least 5MtCO₂/yr of engineered removals by 2030, in line with CCC and National Infrastructure Commission assessments. Our long-term approach to engineered GGR technologies, which includes technologies used by Drax, is to have a market-driven and technology-neutral competitive framework. We intend to assess jobs, the type scale and CO2 emission reduction potential, as part of the evaluation and selection process of GGR projects. [1] Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener; Green Jobs Taskforce

Offshore Structures: Assets

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of stranded assets in relation to the further development of fossil fuel extraction infrastructure.

Lord Callanan: The UK regulators, the Oil and Gas Authority and the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning have a role in the licensing of future offshore oil and gas developments, but whether to proceed with them is a commercial decision for the operators concerned. The risk of ‘stranded assets’ will be among the many risks operators consider when making investment decisions.

Offshore Industry

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs of decommissioning (1) existing oil and gas infrastructure, and (2) extant oil and gas licences which have not yet been granted planning approval.

Lord Callanan: According to the Oil and Gas Authority’s ‘UKCS Decommissioning Cost Estimate 2021’ report (copy attached), the total cost of decommissioning UK Continental Shelf offshore oil and gas infrastructure has reduced to £46bn[1] equating to a projected saving of nearly £14bn (23%) since the 2017 cost reduction target[2] was first established. With extant oil and gas licences which have not yet been granted planning approval, we do not know which will be developed, so it is not possible to say how much they will cost to decommission, although the Oil and Gas Authority’s UK Continental Shelf full portfolio estimate referenced in the report attached includes £2bn for planned but as yet unsanctioned/not-built projects. [1] Costs shown in 2016 prices, for expenditure in 2017 and after[2] Basis of 2017 estimate, 2016 Annual OGA Stewardship surveyUKCS Decommissioning Cost Estimate 2021 (pdf, 2450.8KB)

Tree Felling

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the impact of tree felling to provide fuel for UK power stations (1) in the UK, and (2) overseas.

Lord Callanan: The Government only supports the use of biomass for energy generation where it complies with our strict sustainability criteria. The sustainability criteria require, among other things, that where biomass is sourced from forests, irrespective of its location, it needs to be sourced from forest areas which are managed in a way that is consistent with sustainable forest management practices.

Biofuels: Timber

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the extent of energy production in the UK through burning wood pellets; the supply chain carbon cost of this approach; and the difference in supply chain carbon costs between wood pellets and coal.

Lord Callanan: The use of sustainable biomass for power generation has been shown to have significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels. Statistics on energy generation from renewable sources including biomass is publicly available on the GOV.UK website. In 2020, around 9% of total electricity generated in the UK was from plant biomass, the majority of which is wood pellets. Supply chain greenhouse gas emissions data reported as part of compliance with the UK’s stringent sustainability criteria under existing renewable energy schemes are available on Ofgem's website.

Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the projected sale of the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre at Harwell; and when they will publish any such assessment.

Lord Callanan: The Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre (VMIC) UK is a private company, limited by guarantee, and as such the UK Government does not exercise any ownership rights. Grant funding has been provided initially to support vaccine manufacturing innovation in the UK and latterly in response to Covid-19. We are working closely with VMIC and other third parties to ensure the UK retains a strong domestic vaccine manufacturing capability to contribute to the UK’s resilience against COVID-19 and other future health emergencies. At present, these discussions are commercially sensitive.

Energy Supply: North of England

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect people who have lost power due to Storm Arwen to be reconnected; and whether a review has been undertaken of communication between (1) Government, (2) power distribution companies, and (3) members of the public about energy supply issues.

Lord Callanan: The impacts of Storm Arwen were very unusual. All customers that lost their electricity supply were restored by the 8th December. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned a post-incident review into Storm Arwen to identify lessons and best practice for communications, resourcing and system resilience. This will include a review of communications between Government, power distribution companies and the public. As the independent regulator for energy, Ofgem has also announced it will undertake a review into the impact of Storm Arwen. This will focus on the role of the network companies in maintaining the resilience of the system and their emergency response, including their communications with customers.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government which manufacturers are supplying COVID-19 vaccines for the current booster campaign in the UK; and what proportion of the campaign total has been supplied by each provider.

Lord Callanan: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that the Pfizer vaccine and a half dose of the Moderna vaccine can be offered as the third booster dose, irrespective of which vaccine someone has received as their primary course. Where mRNA vaccines cannot be offered e.g. due to contraindication, vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine may be considered for those who received AstraZeneca vaccine in their primary course. Individual developers are responsible for organising supply from different supply chains to customers. In line with existing MHRA approved production procedures we expect these doses to come from various manufacturers based in different European countries. The overall number of vaccinations is publicly available and updated weekly, however the proportion supplied by each provider is commercially sensitive.

Newport Wafer Fab: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Callanan on 6 December (HL Deb, cols 1634–35), whether the purchase of Newport Wafer Fab will be considered under the terms of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 when it comes into force on 1 January 2022.

Lord Callanan: The Government is still considering the case. The Government will continue to monitor the situation closely and will not hesitate to take further action if needed.

Slavery: Xinjiang

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce kite marking to products, indicating their origins, when (1) manufactured by slave labour in Xinjiang, or (2) believed to have been produced as part of a supply chain originating in Xinjiang, and exported to the UK.

Lord Callanan: Since leaving the EU, we have introduced the new UKCA marking to indicate that products comply with UK product regulations and are fit to be placed on the market in Great Britain. It is mandatory for most products currently covered by the ‘CE marking’ from 1 January 2023. The kitemarking is different to this and is owned and operated by the British Standards Institution. On 12 January 2021, the UK Government announced a series of robust measures in respect of UK supply chains to help ensure that no British organisations – government or private sector, deliberately or inadvertently – are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities in Xinjiang. The measures announced include a review of export controls as they apply to Xinjiang, the introduction of financial penalties for organisations that fail to comply with their obligations under the Modern Slavery Act, increasing support for UK government bodies to exclude suppliers complicit in violations, and new, robust guidance to UK businesses on the specific risks faced by companies with links to the region. We will keep our policy response under close review.

Newport Wafer Fab: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply ofLord Callanan on 6 December (HL Deb, col 1635), whether the purchase of Newport Wafer Fab has been referred to the Competition and Merger Authority; and if so, what was the outcome.

Lord Callanan: My Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State has powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to intervene in mergers and takeovers on specified public interest grounds, including national security. Such an intervention would involve an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Audit: Standards

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the White Paper Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance, published in March relies at paragraph 2.2.2 on the Brydon Review of 2019, while (1) the Companies Act 2006 sets out that a company's undistributable reserves include its accumulated unrealised profits, and (2) paragraph 43 of the Financial Reporting Council Bulletin published in March 2020 states that an auditor must undertake "an examination of the relationship between the company’s net assets and it’s called up share capital and undistributable reserves as stated in the audited balance sheet".

Lord Callanan: There are currently no specific requirements under company law or accounting standards for financial statements to disclose the total amount of profits that are distributable. Some companies do provide these figures, but they are provided on a voluntary basis. The text quoted in the question relates to the statement an auditor is required to make to a company under section 92 of the Companies Act 2006 when a private company re-registers as a public company. It does not establish a requirement for the company to disclose its undistributable reserves. The Government White Paper, Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance, set out proposals to require companies, within an agreed scope, to disclose the total amount of reserves that are distributable. The Government will respond to the White Paper consultation in due course.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of calls by the President of the United States and NGOs to waiveintellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines.

Lord Callanan: Intellectual Property rights have been critical in underpinning innovators’ confidence to form over 300 partnerships - an unprecedented number - which have made real, positive impacts on vaccine delivery; examples include AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India, and Pfizer-BioNTech and BIOVAC in South Africa. These examples show what is possible when the right partners work together and share technology. While we must continue to ensure vaccine production needs are met globally, the WHO news release of 7 October made it clear that, “With global vaccine production now at nearly 1.5 billion doses per month, there is sufficient vaccine from a supply perspective to achieve global vaccination targets”. We must therefore also focus on issues of distribution and delivery to successfully vaccinate the globe.

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) number, and (2) value, of loans issued under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme that were made to (a) companies formed within seven days before the loan application, and (b) companies which were dormant and never traded.

Lord Callanan: The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is a delegated scheme and lending decisions were made by the accredited lenders.

Hospitality Industry: Vacancies

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto help the hospitality sector fill job vacancies in that sector.

Lord Callanan: The Department has launched the first-ever hospitality strategy to support the reopening, recovery and resilience of England’s pubs, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs. As part of this, we have set up the Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the delivery of the strategy, including working with the sector to make hospitality a career option of choice and looking at the labour and skills shortages. In order to help address the immediate challenges of labour shortages in the hospitality sector, the Department for Work and Pensions is working hard to fill ongoing vacancies by using work coaches to help find local talent, and Plans for Jobs programmes, such as Kickstart and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes. The Department for Education has also added hospitality and catering qualifications to the Free Courses for Jobs, as part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. Additionally, we are increasing employer-led apprenticeship funding to £2.7 billion by 2024-25, extending the £3,000 incentive payment for every apprentice a business hires up until 31 January 2022, and improving the apprenticeship system for employers.

Department of Health and Social Care

Radiology

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fully registered (1) radiographers, and (2) medical physicists, wereworking in the NHS ineach year from 2016 to 2021; and what steps are they taking to increase the number of such professionals over the next five years.

Lord Kamall: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practice surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) professionally qualified HCHS radiographers and medical physicists working in National Health Service trusts as at September each year and the latest available data in August 2021.Radiographers Medical PhysicistsSeptember2016 16,307 2,819September2017 16,884 2,809September2018 17,398 2,928September2019 17,965 2,975September2020 18,555 3,153August 2021 18,573 3,212 Diagnostic radiography and therapeutic radiography are two of the seven priority professions identified in Health Educations England’s (HEE) Cancer Workforce Plan. HEE has trained morethan 560 radiographers in image interpretation and reporting and is now targeting an additional 150 for 2021/22. Since September 2020 all eligible radiography students can access a new, non-repayable training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year plus a specialist subject payment of £1,000 per academic year.HEE’s National School of Healthcare Science commissions the Scientist Training Programme (STP) and the Higher Specialist Scientific Training (HSST) programmes for clinical scientists and consultant clinical scientists who will work in the domain of medical physics. Since 2016, 596 medical physicists have been trained via the STP and HSST programmes.

Coronavirus: Crime

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what facts would influence whether a charge of assault would be brought against a person working in a healthcare environment who knowingly was carrying COVID-19, with or without intention to transmit the virus to another person.

Lord Kamall: National Health Service organisations should consider the specific facts in a case-by-case basis and in accordance with their local disciplinary policy and procedures. Any investigation should establish whether the staff member intentionally, recklessly, carelessly, or negligently put patients and/or other members of staff at risk of infection. This may result in dismissal as the ultimate sanction. If any internal investigation identifies a criminal offence has been committed, the employing organisation will need to make a referral to the relevant police force. Any charges of assault would be a matter for the police and Civil Court.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

The Earl of Leicester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatdiscussions they have had with the Scottish Government to ensure that people who have had one COVID-19 vaccine administered in England and one in Scotland are recognised in Scotland as being fully vaccinated; and what plans they have to ensure that people who have had one COVID-19 vaccine administered in England and one in Scotland are recognised in England as being fully vaccinated.

Lord Kamall: Discussions at official and ministerial level have taken place with the Scottish Government. Following these discussions, NHS Digital has established live bi-directional data flows between England and Scotland which updates both the general practitioner (GP) record and NHS COVID Pass status. Before a NHS COVID Pass can be issued, both doses must be recorded.Interoperable digital and non-digital solutions are now available in each United Kingdom nation. The service an individual accesses depends on where their GP is registered.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what scientific and medical assessments informed their decision to make the wearing of face masks in public faces voluntary.

Lord Kamall: Before moving to Step 4 of the Roadmap on 19 July, which changed the requirement to wear face coverings in certain settings from mandatory to voluntary, the Government assessed the evidence of progress against four tests:- The deployment of the vaccine programme;- The effectiveness of vaccines in reducing hospitalisations and deaths among those vaccinated;- The level of infection rates in relation to the pressure on the National Health Service; and- The risks presented by new variants of concern. The Joint Biosecurity Centre assessed the data and evidence from a variety of sources against these four tests. COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan, which is available in an online only format, set out a ‘plan B’ for England, which includes the reintroduction of the legally mandated wearing of face coverings in certain settings.

Social Services: Qualifications

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they recognise the need for a (1) nationally recognised, and (2) mandatory, care qualification; and what steps they have taken, if any, towards establishing this.

Lord Kamall: There are a number of nationally recognised qualifications available for those working in the adult social care sector. We are also investing in the social care workforce to support those working in care to access training and qualifications and increase their skills.In addition, the Care Certificate provides nationally recognised training standards for non-registered roles. The standards equip workers with the fundamental skills they need to provide quality care and care workers complete the Care Certificate as part of their induction training. We have also committed to the creation of a delivery standard recognised across the sector. This will improve the portability of the Care Certificate, to avoid care workers repeating training when moving roles. We are exploring options to establish a requirement for all care workers to have reached this baseline standard.

Health Professions: Migrant Workers

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Kamall on 13 December (HL Deb, col 8), which countries have a surplus of medical professionals.

Lord Kamall: The information requested is not held centrally. However, we are aware of a number of countries with unemployed nurses and countries that train excess numbers of nurses for their domestic requirements in order to give employment opportunities. We are in discussions with the Governments of some of these countries regarding supporting their health systems and giving opportunities to trained staff in the United Kingdom. We have established Government to Government health worker migration agreements with Kenya, Malaysia and the Philippines this year and a Health Workforce Taskforce with the Government of India as part of the Enhanced Trade Partnership, signed earlier in 2021.

Social Services: Inspections

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what training is available to care inspectors in relation to diet and its impact on overall wellbeing.

Lord Kamall: As the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors, inspects and regulates services to ensure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. The CQC’s inspectors consider Regulation 14 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, to assess whether people who use services have adequate nutrition and hydration to sustain life and good health.The CQC can prosecute for a breach of this regulation or a breach of part of the regulation if a failure to meet the regulation results in avoidable harm to a person using the service or a person using the service is exposed to significant risk of harm.While the CQC’s inspectors are not required to undertake specific mandatory training in relation to diet and Regulation 14, the CQC refers its inspectors to both learning resources produced by Skills for Care and internal resources on nutrition and hydration.

Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to replace aging radiotherapy treatment machines to enable cancer patients to benefit from technological advances in equipment; and what is their timetable for any such plans.

Lord Kamall: As part of the 2020 Spending Review, £32 million was made available to support the replacement of 17 linear accelerators (LINACs) over 10 years old, which will be delivered by 31 March 2022. This is in addition to £160 million invested from 2016 to 2018 which enabled the replacement or upgrade of over 80 LINACs.As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, changes will be made to the current radiotherapy payment system to incentivise the adoption of evidence-based best practice care and enable the appropriate replacement of equipment.

Social Services: Catering

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the standard training given to chefs in care settings.

Lord Kamall: No specific assessment has been made.

Disease Control

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they have updated their future pandemic preparedness strategy, in view of the experiences of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Kamall: The Department’s pandemic preparedness plans are kept under constant review and regularly evolve with new scientific information. We integrate learning from previous outbreaks, including COVID-19, and from rigorous testing and exercises. We continue to prepare for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios and aim to have robust, flexible and deployable capabilities that can be adapted to outbreaks of different scales and characteristics. We are committed to learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and will commence a full public inquiry in spring 2022. This will be considered by the Government and a range of stakeholders, including expert advisory groups and local emergency planners, to inform our planning for potential future pandemics. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was established on 1 October 2021 and incorporates the new Centre for Pandemic Preparedness (CPP). Working with the CPP, the UKHSA will ensure that we are protected from future health threats, including pandemics, by building on the enhanced capabilities deployed to tackle COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks.

Immunotherapy: Shortages

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what communications have been issued by the NHS in England about the immunoglobulin shortage to patient groups supporting people with immunodeficiency; and whether the NHS in England has communicated directly with patients to explain the situation and how it will affect them.

Lord Kamall: With the input of clinicians, professional bodies and patient groups, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the UK Primary Immunodeficiency Network have developed a patient information leaflet which was issued to National Health Service trusts on 8 November 2021, with a request to discuss and share with patients as part of individual clinical conversations. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also shared the leaflet with patient groups to circulate to affected members.The patient information leaflet highlights that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people have been able to donate blood, which has impacted the availability of immunoglobulin products both globally and in the United Kingdom. The patient information leaflet also explains what the impact of the global shortage of immunoglobulin products may mean for UK patients and how they can access support. A copy of the patient leaflet, Immunoglobulin replacement therapy: Information for patients from the NHS and the UK Primary Immunodeficiency Network is attached.Immunoglobulin replacement therapy: Information fo (docx, 145.9KB)

Department for Education

Schools: Ventilation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure school classrooms are properly ventilated; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce a requirement to keep CO2 in classrooms below 800 parts per million.

Baroness Barran: The department has provided CO2 monitors to state-funded nurseries, schools and further education colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding. Over 99% of eligible maintained schools, further education colleges, and the majority of nurseries have now received a CO2 monitor with over 300,000 now delivered. Final deliveries will be made before the end of term. Feedback suggests that the monitors are acting as a helpful tool to manage ventilation, sitting alongside the other protective measures in place to manage transmission, such as regular testing, vaccinations and increased hygiene.While CO2 measurements are a useful proxy for ventilation, they do not give direct information about infection risk. For these reasons, the values given in guidance should not be seen as absolute safe versus unsafe thresholds, but as a broad guide to the quality of ventilation in a space. This approach is recommended by both the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in their guidance. As stated in our guidance, it is the responsibility of schools, colleges and nurseries to decide on the use of poorly ventilated rooms in accordance with their own risk assessment procedures and obligations under health and safety law. 1,500 parts per million (ppm) is well below the workplace exposure limit set by HSE, set at 5,000ppm (averaged over the course of 8 hours).If used properly, air cleaning units can help reduce airborne contaminants in a poorly ventilated space while remedial work is undertaken to permanently improve ventilation. It is important to note that air cleaning units cannot improve ventilation, and they should never be used as a reason to reduce ventilation or not to remediate poor ventilation in a space.The department is providing additional, exceptional funding for air cleaning units for poorly ventilated spaces in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) providers, including SEND units in mainstream schools, where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible. These institutions are being prioritised given the higher-than-average number of vulnerable pupils in attendance. The purchase of 1,000 air cleaning units reflects our assessment of need in the sector based on recent feedback from SEND and AP providers.Institutions which are not eligible for a department funded unit have access to an online ‘marketplace’, which provides a route to purchasing air cleaning units of a suitable specification and competitive price. We expect that in most classrooms existing ventilation will be sufficient.Maintaining adequate ventilation ultimately remains the responsibility of individual schools, colleges and nurseries. It is for institutions to decide on the use of affected rooms in accordance with their risk assessment procedures and obligations under health and safety law.The case for additional support for institutions to maintain good ventilation will be kept under review as the programme continues and schools, colleges and nurseries use the monitors to further assess their ventilation needs.

Secondary Education: Teachers

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of secondary school teachers in England.

Baroness Barran: The number of teachers remains high, with over 461,000 (FTE) working in schools across the country, 20,000 more than in 2010. The department aims to continue to attract and then retain the highly skilled teachers that every child needs. We are taking action to improve teacher recruitment and retention by transforming the training and support we provide to not only attract more people into teaching, but to help teachers stay and thrive in the profession.The department is creating an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support and professional development for all new teachers to bring teaching in line with other prestigious professions such as law, accountancy and medicine. Underpinning this is the new Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework (ECF). Together, these ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across ITT and into their induction.To support recruitment and retention of specialist secondary teachers in subjects that are harder to recruit, we have put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £24,000 tax-free and prestigious scholarships worth £26,000 tax-free. This will encourage talented trainees into key subjects, such as chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics. Additionally, we have announced a levelling up premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for teachers in these subjects in years 1 to 5 of their careers.Furthermore, the department offers bespoke programmes to attract people who may not otherwise have considered teaching. These include the High Potential Initial Teacher Training and Leadership Development Programme and a dedicated programme to attract, support and retain those with career and industry experience into teaching.The department recognises the importance of increasing the consideration of teaching as a career of choice amongst undergraduates, and therefore we continue to support schools to deliver our teaching internship programme in mathematics, physics and computing. Our expert teacher training advisers offer bespoke, personalised support for candidates across all subjects who are looking to apply for ITT.We also remain committed to increasing teacher starting salaries to £30,000 to make teaching an attractive graduate option. We are continuing our efforts to support teacher wellbeing, including by launching the education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter, and by driving down unnecessary burdens and reducing teacher workload though the use of our Workload Reduction Toolkit, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit.

Ministry of Justice

Judiciary: Domestic Abuse

Baroness Helic: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings ministers have had with (1) the President of the Family Division, and (2) the Chair of the Judicial College, since April; and in how many of those meetings judicial training on domestic abuse was discussed.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: Since April 2021, ministers have met with the senior judiciary regularly to discuss a range of issues related to the administration of the justice system and the courts and tribunals. To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. These responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College. The judiciary and professional staff in the Judicial College are responsible for the design, content, and delivery of judicial training.

Judicial Review and Courts Bill

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the Judicial Review and Courts Bill meets their aspirations in this policy area.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The Judicial Review and Courts Bill delivers on the Government’s Manifesto commitment to ensure that Judicial Review is available to protect the rights of individuals against an overbearing state, without being abused to conduct politics by another means or to create needless delays.The Bill reduces inefficiency by overturning the Cart judgment and creates new powers for the courts to modify quashing orders, allowing them to tailor their decisions more closely to the circumstances of individual casesThe courts elements of the Bill contains measures to streamline procedures across the justice system. It gives the criminal courts powers to progress cases more quickly, avoid unnecessary hearings, and ensure cases are heard in the most appropriate court at the earliest opportunity. This will save court time so that resources can be focused on trials and on reducing the backlog.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of comments made by UN Mideast envoy, Tor Wennesland, on 18 November to the UN Security Council concerning (1) the need to reduce the activities of the government of Israel in and around Jerusalem and the West Bank, (2) the importance of financial stability for the Palestinian Authority so it can pay salaries, and (3) the need to halt to settlement activities.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK continues to urge the Government of Israel to permanently end its settlement expansion and settlement activity in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Minister Cleverly raised UK opposition to settlement expansion with the Government of Israel on 9 November. We share the concerns of the UN Middle East Envoy over the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s fiscal crisis and are actively working to help mitigate it. The UK has a substantial technical assistance programme within the Palestinian Ministry of Finance, strengthening public financial management. This programme is credited by the Palestinian Minister of Finance with helping to increase domestic revenues. We are also actively working with the PA and Government of Israel to resolve a number of long-standing issues that have the potential to substantially increase the clearance revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Iraq: Turkey

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allegations that the government of Turkey is deploying chemical weapons in northern Iraq; and what plans they have to support an independent inquiry into their deployment by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The United Kingdom opposes the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances. We take any credible evidence of the use of chemical weapons very seriously. We have been monitoring the recent allegations of chemical weapons use in northern Iraq but the allegations remain unsubstantiated. Any evidence should be shared with States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and provided through appropriate channels to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical Secretariat.

Gaza: Coronavirus

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that residents in Gaza receive their fair share of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Tackling COVID-19 remains a priority for the Government. We welcome the steps that the parties have taken so far to coordinate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including ensuring that essential medical supplies and staff can access Gaza, and encourage further dialogue in this regard. The UK is committed to global equitable access to effective vaccines as demonstrated by our £548 million contribution to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines. The Occupied Palestinian Territories was one of the first to receive vaccines from this scheme. The UK has raised the need for equitable access to vaccines in discussions with both the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.

Palestinians: Water Supply

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the confiscation of a water pipe for Palestinian farmers in the Jordan Valley.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has raised the issue of access to water in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli authorities, including stressing the urgent need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve the current situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank. The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The UK regularly raises the issue of demolitions, confiscations and forced evictions of Palestinians from their homes with the Government of Israel, most recently with Israel's Ministry of Defence on 19 October.

Ministry of Defence

Diversity and Inclusion Directorate: Staff

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are serving in the Ministry of Defence's diversity and inclusion directorate; what are their (1) grades, and (2) salaries; what is their reporting chain; and who is the responsible Secretary of State for their work.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Directorate brings together a number of teams who deliver work related to the creation of an inclusive culture; the Service Discipline, Conduct, Complaints, and Legislation team (DCCL), Service Justice Complaints and Behaviours Transformation team (CJBT), the Defence Serious Crime Capability team (DSCC) and the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) team. This Directorate is part of the wider Defence People Transformation team, led by a 2-star Senior Civil Servant reporting to the Chief of Defence People, and was announced in the Defence Command Paper as a public statement of the MOD’s commitment to change. The D&I Directorate brings together the existing Service Justice and Complaints process with the teams charged with transforming these processes. This allows a coordinated, consistent, and cross-cutting approach to tackle fairness, equality, and justice across Defence and make real change to the experiences of our people. The grades and salary bands of the Directorate’s staff can be found in the separate Excel workbook accompanying this answer. The Directorate is part of the MOD and is, therefore, responsible to and the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Defence HL4922 - Diversity and Inclusion Grades and Salary (xlsx, 19.9KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Sick Pay: Living Wage and Minimum Wage

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise the rate of statutory sick pay to equate to either the (1) national minimum, or (2) living, wage.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Government currently has no plans to increase the rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). SSP provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work.  SSP is just one part of our welfare safety net and our wider Government offer to support people in times of need. Where an individual’s income is reduced while off work sick and they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit and new style Employment and Support Allowance, depending on their personal circumstances. As part of the Government’s response to coronavirus, we have extended SSP to those who are sick or self-isolating due to coronavirus; for example, where they or a member of their household has tested positive. SSP is also payable from the first day of absence, rather than the fourth, where an employee is sick or self-isolating due to coronavirus. Some employers may also decide to pay more, and for longer, through Occupational Sick Pay.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support youngpeople into jobs in (1) England, and (2) other European countries.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: We have announced our Plan for Jobs expansion which will see another £500 million invested in supporting people into jobs. Specific support for young people is available through Kickstart and the DWP Youth Offer. The Kickstart scheme is dedicated to helping 16-24-year olds at risk of long-term unemployment develop their skills and experience through 6-month work placements. Over 112,000 Kickstart jobs have been started, and the scheme will continue until March 2022, offering jobs and experience to many thousands more young people. We are extending the DWP Youth Offer to 2025 and have expanded eligibility to include 16 and 17-year olds, in addition to 18 to 24-year olds, who are claiming Universal Credit and searching for work. The Youth Offer currently provides intensive work search support through the Youth Employment Programme, specialised Youth Employment Coaches for young people with additional barriers to work, and over 150 Youth Hubs across England, Scotland and Wales. DWP is working in collaboration with the Department for Education, National Careers Service, devolved administrations, and other partners to deliver a comprehensive package of support for young people. The Government’s primary focus is the recovery of the labour market in the UK.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty's Government who are the representatives from the business and finance sector on the business advisory group set up under the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework; and what is the group's remit.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: In pursuit of high ambition outcomes for CBD COP15, Defra engages with a range of UK stakeholders including representatives from academia, the private sector, NGOs, and other interested parties, to gain valuable input from a wide range of sources. As part of this engagement, a business advisory group has met several times to consider the draft global biodiversity framework, its implementation across the private sector, and the role of business in mainstreaming biodiversity. Representatives of the business advisory group are: The Biodiversity ConsultancyBP (independently but also on behalf of the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum, UKBBF)Business for Nature coalitionDanone (independently but also on behalf of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity coalition, OP2B)The Environment BankFirmenich (independently but also on behalf of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity coalition, OP2B)FNZ UKJP MorganNational Hair and Beauty Federation (NHBF)Scottish and Southern ElectricitySound and FairStandard CharterTengriUnileverWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)World Ocean CouncilWSP

Home Office

Police: Road Traffic Control

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to include roads policing within the national Strategic Policing Requirement.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) will set clear direction to policing on the contribution they need to make to respond to national threats including terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse. It will highlight where police forces need to work together, using local and/or regional capabilities, to protect the public. Following the SPR review that we concluded earlier this year, we are considering the national threats and policing capabilities, such as roads policing, that are included in the SPR. The revised SPR will be published in due course.

Euro 2020: Arrests

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many arrests were made by the Metropolitan Police Service at each England Euro 2020 match played at Wembley for offences relating to football disorder.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many charges were made for offences relating to football disorder for each England Euro 2020 match.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many convictions related to (1) disorder, and (2) racist offences, at football matches there were in each of the last five years.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many football banning orders were made under the Football (Disorder) Act 2000 in each of the last five years.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Data on arrests made by the Metropolitan Police Service for offences relating to football disorder relevant for the purposes of Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989 at each England match during the Euro2020 tournament is shown in the table below: - DateOpponentArrests13 June 2021Croatia218 June 2021Scotland2822 June 2021Czech Republic129 June 2021Germany23 July 2021Ukraine07 July 2021Denmark1811 July 2021Italy39 Police investigations into football disorder offences committed in connection with Euro 2020 matches and the resultant legal proceedings are ongoing. The Home Office does not hold data on the charging of these offences.Data on convictions related to disorder, and racist offences, at football matches in each of the last five years is not held centrally.The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the number of football banning orders issued each year. These can be found on gov.uk.

Taxis: Complaints

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to review how common law police disclosure operates regarding licensed taxi drivers, and (2) to ensure that allegations against such taxi drivers are promptly reported by the police to the relevant local licensing authority.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Common Law Police Disclosure (CLPD) provisions are an operational matter for policing. The provisions allow forces to proactively provide (sensitive) personal data to a third party using common law powers, where appropriate. This includes – in certain circumstances - sharing information with a licensing authority where the individual in question is a taxi or private hire vehicle licence holder. Chief officers should determine the implementation of CLPD provisions locally, in accordance with guidance published by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council. They should also ensure close engagement with licensing authorities to allow for the exchange of information. The Home Office and Department for Transport continue to facilitate join-up at the national level between policing and licensing bodies, in order to ensure these processes are understood and work as smoothly as possible at the local level.

Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create a national register ofall individuals who (1) have been refused, or (2) had revoked, a license issued under the Licensing Act 2003.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create a national registerof ­all individuals who (1) have been refused, or (2) had revoked, a license issued under Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government has no current plans to create a national register of individuals who have been refused or had a licence revoked under the Licensing Act 2003 or the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the number of individuals and families eligible for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals have been processed by the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to date; how many spaces are available for new referrals in 2022; and which organisations can make referrals to thescheme.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We are working across government and with partners such as UNHCR to design and open the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme amidst a complex and changing picture. We are committed to working in step with the international community to get this right, and we will set out more details soon.The first to be resettled through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will be some of those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk.Information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at gov.uk.All figures for operational UK resettlement schemes are published quarterly on gov.uk.

Crime: Drugs

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown: To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they will take to stop the criminal drug trade within the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. This Government is determined to tackle this threat and that is why we published a ten-year Strategy to combat illicit drugs. This Strategy sets out a whole system approach of how the Government is doing more than ever to cut off the supply of drugs by criminal gangs and give people with a drug addiction a route to a productive and drug-free life reducing the recreational use of drugs Underpinned by significant investment, we will reduce drug-related crimes, deaths, harms and overall drug use. This includes £300m of dedicated investment from the Home Office over the next three years to drive work on tackling drug supply The strategy is on the gov.uk page.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to update (1) Parliament, and (2) the public, on the implementation of (a) the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, and (b) the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, including the (i) number of applicants identified or referred, and (ii) number of visas issued.

Lord Greenhalgh: We intend to publish an update on the progress of Operation Warm Welcome in due course.Statistical updates will be published in the Immigration statistics quarterly release from 2022, which can be found on gov.uk.

Roads: Accidents

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what obligation, if any, there is upon emergency services to alert a local authority where the condition of a road could be considered a causal factor in an incident they are called to attend.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: There are no requirements to share information but it is the Government’s expectation is that information should be shared – as appropriate - between emergency services and others in the public sector should an issue be identified that may cause a risk to the public.

Repossession Orders: Fraud

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the National Crime Agency and the Financial Conduct Authority received the first complaints alleging that banks had forged customer signatures to repossess homes, businesses and other property.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government expects all companies to obey the law and relevant regulations. Anyone with evidence of such forgery taking place should report it to their bank in the first instance. If their concerns remain, or they do not have a direct relationship with the lender, they should report it to the relevant authorities.Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own and is not able to intervene in individual cases. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires all authorised firms to have systems and controls in place to mitigate the risk that they be used to commit financial crime. Whilst the police have primary responsibility for investigating fraud the FCA also has powers to take a variety of enforcement action against firms that carry out fraudulent activity.The chair of the Treasury Select Committee wrote to NCA Director General Lynne Owens on the issue of bank signature forgery in July 2019. The matter was assigned to the National Economic Crime Centre for consideration in September 2019.

Terrorism: Victims

Baroness Hoey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to standardise the definition of a victim of terrorism across the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office recognises a victim of terrorism as anyone who has suffered harm, including physical, mental and emotional harm, as a consequence of a terrorist attack. This includes those who are injured, bereaved families, and witnesses. We recognise that many people can be affected by terrorist attacks in many ways and are committed to ensuring that all victims receive comprehensive support. To strengthen the support available the Home Secretary publicly committed to conducting an internal review of the support provided to victims of terrorism. Whilst this review will not consider changing the definition of a victim it will consider the support provided to victims of terrorism. Support for victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and there is separate legislation for the provision of this support under The Victims and Survivors (NI) Order 2006.

Treasury

Business: Coronavirus

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to extend VAT relief, and (2) to reduce business rates, to support businesses implementing the new COVID-19 restrictions.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government has provided over £400 billion of direct support to the economy during this financial year and last which has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses, and public services in every region and nation of the UK through the pandemic. The reduced rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism has cost over £8 billion and will continue to support businesses until 31 March 2022. There are no plans to extend the length of this relief. Eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors in England will benefit from business rates relief worth over £6 billion in the year 2021-22. All taxes are kept under review, but it is appropriate that the temporary tax reliefs are first reduced, and then removed, in order to strengthen and rebuild the public finances.

Events Industry: Non-domestic Rates

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide 100 per cent business rate relief to the end of 2022/23 for all music venues, given the COVID-19 Plan B restrictions.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the introduction of Plan B COVID-19 restrictions, what plans they have, if any, to provide 100 percent Business Rate Relief to the end of 2022/23 for all music venues.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: Our support for the music industry through the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund throughout the pandemic has been unwavering. The Government has provided unprecedented business rates support, worth £16 billion, for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors since the start of the pandemic. Eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties paid no business rates for 15 months from 1 April 2020, and thanks to the current 66 per cent capped relief which took effect on 1 July 2021, over 90 per cent of eligible businesses will see a 75 per cent reduction in their business rates bill across this entire financial year to April 2022. In recognition of longer-term challenges facing the high street, eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses will receive a new temporary relief worth almost £1.7 billion in the year 2022-23.

Culture: Tickets

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will (1) cancel, or (2) delay, the planned VAT rise on culture tickets, given the COVID-19 Plan B restrictions.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the introduction of Plan B COVID-19 restrictions, whether they will cancel the planned VAT rise on cultural exhibition and event tickets.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July 2020 to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors. As announced at Spring Budget 2021, the Government extended the 5 per cent temporary reduced rate of VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors until the end of September. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent was introduced for these goods and services to help ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. This new rate will end on 31 March 2022. All taxes are kept under review, but there are no plans to extend the 12.5 per cent reduced rate of VAT. This relief has cost over £8 billion. Applying a reduced rate of VAT for a longer period would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution.

Financial Services: Carbon Emissions

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to implement net-zero carbon emissions transition plans on a mandatory basis to avoid (1) regulatory uncertainty, and (2) delays, in transitioning London to a net-zero financial centre, as part of theGreening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing,published in October.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: At COP26 Finance Day the Chancellor announced that the UK will move towards making transition plans mandatory. Initially, asset managers, regulated asset owners and listed companies will need to publish a transition plan or provide an explanation if they have not done so. Recognising that there is not yet an agreed standard for transition plans, the Chancellor also announced that the Government will set up a Transition Plan Taskforce. This will bring together the best of British industry and academia with regulators and the third sector to develop recommendations on transition plan disclosures in the UK. As standards for transition plans emerge, the Government and regulators will take steps to incorporate these into the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and strengthen requirements to encourage consistency in published plans and increased adoption by 2023.

Trader Support Service: Staff

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are employed (1) directly, and (2) indirectly, by the Trader Support Service.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Trader Support Service (TSS) contract was awarded to a consortium of Fujitsu, who was the majority member, McKinsey and Company, Customs Clearance Consortium, Institute for Export and International Trade, and Hinduja Global Solutions Limited. There are 759 staff employed across Fujitsu and other consortium members supporting TSS as of the week ending 17 December 2021. Trader Support Service (TSS) has handled just under 1.4 million Supplementary Declarations since 1 January 2021, with approximately 44,000 traders registered to use the service. Just over 16,800 of our traders are registered in Northern Ireland, with just over 11,500 of those traders actively using the service.

Children: Day Care

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 19 November (75071), what proportion of the £2.4 billion underspend on tax-free childcare since 2017 has been reinvested in other childcare and early education services.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: We have spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on our early education entitlements and the government continues to support families with their childcare costs. The universal 15 hours entitlement, available for every three and four year old, can save parents up to £2,500 per year, and eligible working parents can apply for an additional 15 hours free childcare which can save them up to £5,000 if they use the full 30 hours. 30 hours free childcare was introduced in England in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of three and four year olds, benefitting nearly 330,000 children in January 2021. In addition to the free early education entitlements, the government offers Tax-Free Childcare for children from 0-11 years old, or up to 16 if disabled. This scheme means that for every £8 parents pay their provider via an online account, the government will pay £2 – up to a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child each year, or £4,000 if disabled. 308,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 364,000 children in June 2021. Parents may also benefit from Universal Credit. Working parents on a low income can get up to 85% of their childcare costs for children under 16 reimbursed through Universal Credit Childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children, payable in arrears. At SR21, the Government announced a £160 million investment for 2022-23, for local authorities to increase the hourly rate to be paid to early years providers.

Offshore Industry: Tax Yields

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the net amount received in tax from North Sea oil and gas operations in each of the past six financial years, accounting for rebates and subsidies.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: Government revenues received from North Sea oil and gas operations, net of allowable deductions and tax reliefs, are presented in HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC) “Statistics of government revenues from UK oil and gas production” publication which is available on Gov.uk.

Trader Support Service

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government for how long they intend the Trader Support Service to operate.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The current contract with the Trader Support Service (TSS) is due to end in December 2022. We continue to work up options for the end of the TSS’s initial two-year contract period to December 2022 and await the outcome of the negotiations currently underway for the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Trader Support Service

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, what is the projected annual expenditure on the Trader Support Servicefor each of the next three years.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The total estimated spend for the Trader Support Service (TSS) in the year 2022-23 is £99 million. There is currently no projected spend in the subsequent two years. We continue to work up options for the end of the TSS’s initial two-year contract period to December 2022 and await the outcome of the negotiations currently underway for the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Income Tax

Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in order to estimate the revenue yield of a one per cent increase on all income tax rates payable on property income, they can draw on the data in Table 3.7 from the Survey of Personal Incomes, which compiles numbers of taxpayers and associated estimates of property income.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: While the Survey of Personal Incomes offers information on the amounts of property income received by Income Tax payers, additional analysis would be required to assess the revenue raised by increasing the rates of Income Tax on property income. This would need to include an assessment of interactions with other aspects of Income Tax, such as the application of allowances and thresholds and the behavioural response to the policy change. The Government has not made an assessment of the revenue that would be raised by increasing income tax rates applicable to property income by one per cent.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Telecommunications Cables: Seas and Oceans

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to protect international underwater telecommunication cables; and what would be the consequences of a failure to do so.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Sub-sea cables are a critical part of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure connecting the UK to the rest of the world. Working with operators, DCMS ensures their security and resilience. We support industry efforts to enhance the cable networks’ resilience to loss or damage and provide advice and guidance to mitigate the risks posed by physical and cyber threats.

Artificial Intelligence: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the China State Council'sA Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, published on 20 July 2017, in permitting the export of Artificial Intelligence driven devices to the UK.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: HM Government has a comprehensive set of artificial intelligence policies, including our recent National AI Strategy. This strategy will ensure that the UK’s AI ecosystem continues to flourish, so that the UK has the continued domestic capability to be a world leader in AI across all sectors.In the development of our own approach to sectors and technologies, we keep abreast of other international plans and strategies for artificial intelligence, and their implications for the UK. We are committed to getting the national and international governance of AI technologies right in order to encourage innovation and investment, and to protect the public and our fundamental values. Given the UK’s strength in AI research, innovation, and governance, we are in a position to make a unique and important contribution to the development of global standards for AI, and to lead thinking in this arena.We are familiar with China’s Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, issued in 2017, but recognise that it does not in isolation represent the entirety of China’s AI strategy. We note that China last year imposed its own export restrictions on its domestically generated AI technology. On 8 December 2021 the Secretary of State for International Trade informed Parliament in a written statement about a package of measures to update the export control regime. The recent review concluded that there were anomalies and inconsistencies within the UK's export control regime, and, as a result, China has been added to the list of those destinations subject to military end-use controls. The updated licensing criteria for strategic export controls apply to all goods, software, and technology which are subject to control for strategic reasons.

Artificial Intelligence: Toys and Games

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of authoritarian regimes using Artificial Intelligence driven smart toys to collect children's data.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government monitors the scale and nature of data security risks, and will continue to do so. The Government takes its responsibility seriously to ensure that data and their supporting infrastructure are secure and resilient in the face of established, new, and emerging risks, including where artificial intelligence plays a role in data collection.The Government has supported the building of strong safeguards and enforcement regimes to ensure that personal data are collected and handled responsibly and securely.Organisations which process the personal data of individuals in the UK must comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Organisations which fail to comply may be investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office and, where appropriate, subject to enforcement action including fines.

Gambling: Licensing

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have tocreate a national register of ­all individuals who (1) have been refused, or (2) had revoked, a license issued under the Gambling Act 2005.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Gambling Commission does not publish a register of individuals or operators which have been refused a licence. However, it does publish a register of companies and individuals who hold, or have applied for, operating licences in Great Britain. It also publishes the names of companies or individuals whose licences have lapsed, expired, or have been revoked, forfeited, suspended, or surrendered in the last three years. The register is available here.

Pornography: Internet

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce age verification for commercial pornography websites.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The strongest protections in the draft Online Safety Bill are for children. Companies in scope of the legislation will need to take steps to prevent children from accessing content which poses the highest risk of harm, including online pornography. Ofcom will set out in its codes of practice the steps companies need to take to comply with their duties under the Bill which we expect will include recommending the use of age verification technologies.The Government recognises the concerns that have been raised about protecting children from online pornography on services which do not currently fall within the scope of the Bill. The Government is exploring ways to provide wider protections for children from online pornography.The Joint Committee scrutinising the Bill reported with their recommendations on 14 December. We will consider the Committee’s recommendations and are committed to introducing the Bill as soon as possible.

Gambling: Money Laundering

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 17 November (HL3696), whatis their estimate of the total number of stolen funds that are used for gambling purposes each year.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Written Answer of 17 November set out amounts divested by licensed operators in cases where there was both identified anti-money laundering failings and criminal spending and an individual was criminally convicted. The Gambling Commission does not hold further data on stolen funds used for gambling purposes.All gambling operators have a responsibility to keep financial crime out of gambling. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 places an obligation on operators to be alert to attempts by customers to gamble money acquired unlawfully, either to obtain legitimate money in return or simply using criminal proceeds to fund gambling.